Bubbly

SJ took the day off and Nana took the kids so we had a grown-up day all to ourselves. While Nana was being dragged up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, SJ and I took a train out to Reims for a day of cathedral gawking and champagne tasting.

The cathedral in Reims was the chosen location for the coronation of France's kings. It is a beautiful example of the gothic architecture.

After that we were off to an appointment at Taittinger for a history of this region's champagne making and a sample of their bubbly. It was a great tour - the better of the two we did that day. Their caves are natural salt caves and are quite beautiful.

The second tour we did was at Mumm. It might have been an okay tour if it hadn't been for the ill behaved children of a french couple who were entertaining American guests with a tour of a champagne house. Their obnoxius, over privilged and under admonished twits were running around twisting bottles (a big champs no no!), interrupting the guide, and generally creating such havoc that we could barely focus on anything we may or may not have been hearing.

Aside from les petits, Mumm was a bit less authentic than Tat. Veuve was booked so if you are going, make reservations in advance at Veuve and also go to Tat. That's my $.02.

The one interresting thing at Mumm was this room under lock and key- only available to the person resonsible for making sure each year's blend had the right taste and aroma. There are bottles here from every year of Mumm's production so if need be, old bottles can be opened to help make sure the current year's blend is consistent. The last time this was done was apparently in 2004.